Massachusetts and EKU: NP and DNP students only, fully online
EKU enrolls Massachusetts residents in its online FNP, PMHNP and DNP programs, with conditions: its note says it is accepting only those three, and its authorization there rests on programs being fully online. The RN to BSN is closed to Massachusetts students. Plan clinicals early: the state board has its own process for schools based elsewhere, and the compact license is not live yet.
Plan your Massachusetts clinicals
Tell us your EKU program, your town and the kind of practice you want. Your placement advisor confirms the Massachusetts details first.
EKU's Massachusetts entry, program by program
EKU files Massachusetts under SARA member states with special restrictions, and two lines carry the weight. The authorization status reads "Exempt for 100% Fully Online Programs ONLY", and the nursing line says EKU is accepting only Family Nurse Practitioner, Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner and Doctor of Nursing Practice students from the state at this time.
| Program | EKU status for Massachusetts | Licensure table result |
|---|---|---|
| MSN Family Nurse Practitioner | Yes, with conditions | Meets Requirements |
| MSN Psychiatric Mental Health NP | Yes, with conditions | Meets Requirements |
| Post-MSN FNP and PMHNP certificates | Yes, with conditions (see the gap below) | Meets Requirements |
| Doctor of Nursing Practice | Yes, with conditions | No table (not a licensure program) |
| RN to BSN | No | Does Not Meet Requirements |
One gap: the note names FNP and PMHNP without saying whether it means the MSN, the post-MSN certificates or both. The MSN licensure table, which EKU says covers both certificates, marks Massachusetts as Meets, so certificate applicants can read the state as open but should confirm with EKU's online advisors. The state authorization guide sets Massachusetts beside the other conditional states.
Fully online coursework, in-person clinical hours
The exemption fits EKU's delivery: the FNP and PMHNP need no campus visits, so your classes reach you in Massachusetts as they would anywhere. Clinical hours happen in person at a Massachusetts practice, and there the Board of Registration in Nursing has a say.
Its regulation, 244 CMR 6.03(2), reaches schools headquartered in other states. The parent institution files a yearly Part A request six months or more before the first placement, then a Part B request no less than 30 days before each rotation starts, and no student begins before the Board's approval letter arrives. The catch: the Board's page describes only programs leading to the RN and LPN licensing exams and does not address graduate or APRN education, so whether it reaches EKU's NP clinicals is a question to put to EKU.
Whichever way the Board question falls, Massachusetts favors an early start: raise your preferred site with EKU well before NSC 800 begins, not in the final weeks.
Preceptors and health systems in the Commonwealth
AANP counts Massachusetts as full practice once an NP finishes a two-year supervised stretch under an APRN or physician who qualifies, and equivalent experience can earn an exemption. An NP past that point can be a strong clinical teacher. For what EKU checks, read who can precept an EKU student.
Boston Medical Center, Baystate Health, UMass Memorial Health, Beth Israel Lahey Health and Mass General Brigham are among the state's biggest systems, spread across the Boston, Worcester and Springfield metros and the Massachusetts side of greater Providence. None is named here as an EKU partner, and a small practice in your own town can make just as strong a proposal.
Your RN license while the compact waits
Massachusetts adopted the compact in November 2024, yet in the Board's view it does nothing until implementation wraps up. Its target is May 2027, after the FBI gave conditional approval for background checks in May 2026. Until then, a multistate license from outside Massachusetts does not let you work as an RN in the state, so clinical hours there call for a license issued by the Massachusetts Board.
EKU adds a rule of its own: no RN license you hold, in any state, may be encumbered, and EKU's last posted MSN handbook (2021-22) signed new students up for Nursys e-Notify. Both points are unpacked in the RN license and Nursys guide. Massachusetts has not enacted the APRN Compact.
Why Massachusetts EKU students choose us
Under Kentucky's regulation the job of securing a preceptor belongs to EKU, and you may weigh in on the choice (how the Kentucky rule works). Your placement advisor makes that input count: we confirm your program is one EKU accepts from Massachusetts, find a preceptor near your home or job whose license and specialty fit your EKU course, and have the preceptor's credentials and site paperwork ready for EKU's review, early enough for any Board timeline. We stay on call all term and set up a replacement if your preceptor has to leave. Send your request.
Questions EKU students ask
Can I do EKU's RN to BSN while living in Massachusetts?
Not under EKU's current page. Its Massachusetts note limits nursing enrollment to FNP, PMHNP and DNP students, and the RN to BSN licensure table says Does Not Meet for the state. If you are moving to a state where EKU does enroll RN to BSN students, ask EKU's online advisors about timing before you apply; the RN to BSN overview has program details.
Will a Maine or New Hampshire compact license cover a clinical in Boston?
Not yet. Until the Massachusetts Board finishes putting the compact in place, a multistate license from Maine, New Hampshire or another member state does not let you practice in the Commonwealth. Get a Massachusetts RN license through the Board's current process before your clinical term, and leave room for processing.
Is EKU's DNP open to Massachusetts nurses?
Yes, on the same conditions. EKU's note names the Doctor of Nursing Practice among the three nursing programs it accepts from Massachusetts. The DNP is post-master's, in Organizational Leadership, with no licensure table; under EKU's archived DNP handbook (revised 2020), every clinical course began with a request to approve the practice site. See the DNP guide.
What if I move to Massachusetts partway through EKU's FNP?
Raise it with your advisor first. Even into an open state like Massachusetts, a move after admission that EKU has not cleared can put your enrollment in jeopardy. You would also need a Massachusetts RN license for any clinical there, and a site that works under EKU's Massachusetts process, so raise the move at least a term ahead.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-25
We check these pages against EKU's own catalog, program pages and handbooks, and Kentucky's regulations. The current MSN Student Handbook, your course and your faculty have the final word.
EKU secures your preceptor. Your input decides how well it fits your life.
Tell us your EKU program, where you live and when your next clinical course starts. We find preceptors in your community who fit the course and prepare everything EKU reviews, so the option you put forward is ready to approve.
- Preceptors matched to the course: family primary care for
NSC 800andNSC 876, psychiatric care forNSC 886 - Preceptor, license and site details organized for EKU's preceptor information form
- In your own community, wherever EKU enrolls students and you hold your RN license
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